Imagining the Possibilities: Co-creating School-wide Equity, Belonging, and Success

Author

Suzanne L. Martin, Western UniversityFollow

Date of Submission

8-27-2024

Document Type

DiP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

agency, efficacy, opportunity gap, equity, inclusivity, Alberta

Abstract

Abstract

This Dissertation in Practice (DiP) seeks to address the growing opportunity gap adversely impacting marginalized students at an Albertan elementary school. Through a critical theoretical lens, this DiP interrogates the various systemic barriers, contextual factors, and educator biases that perpetuate and reinforce socially and academically stratified learning opportunities that restrict holistic student engagement, belonging, and success. Despite teachers’ desire to meet the needs of all students, increasing levels of student diversity and complexity are decreasing the effectiveness of the school’s traditional pedagogical practices and structures. Employing a blended transformative and compassionate leadership approach, critically educative possibilities towards deep cultural change and inclusive pedagogical practices are explored using key tenets of social cognitive theory. A continuous professional development framework is designed to leverage staff efficacy, agency, and responsibility at the individual and collective levels. Defined by a bias towards action, the change framework in this DiP involves the reconceptualization of leadership as an agentic process that prioritizes equity, empowerment, and inclusivity across the school actor spectrum, thus requiring the engagement of school staff, students, parents/guardians, district staff, and community members. In the proposed solution, capacity building for school leaders, teachers, and support staff is designed to span from ongoing professional collaborations to daily educative classroom teaching and learning experiences. Observational and enactive professional learning to redress instructional practices through iterative inquiry cycles will elevate the prioritization of efficacious, affirming, and empowering learning opportunities for all students.

Keywords: agency, efficacy, opportunity gap, equity, inclusivity, collective responsibility

Recommended Citation

Martin, S. L. (2024). Imagining the Possibilities: Co-creating School-wide Equity, Belonging, and Success. The Dissertation in Practice at Western University, 396. Retrieved from https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/oip/396